Re: Optima damage

[Michael Haseltine]

This happened on one (I hope only one) of a new set I installed a year ago. I don't know it I did it or it came from the factory that way because I noticed it on fitting things and promptly got a new one, no questions asked from where I purchased it. I noticed it by way of some brown dribbles down the side that were clearly acid. In any case, I figured right away that care was called for on installing, and in a couple of places it was very hard to do because of tight clearance. I found I could use the removeable handles to install and slip the handles out afterward.

I ran across an interesting failure on an Optima "yellow top" battery.
The battery is about a year old, and failed with only about 6v on it.
Charging immediately brought the voltage up over 12v at low current, but
when charging stopped, voltage quickly fell back to 6v.

When we lifted the battery out, we noticed that both ends of the yellow
cover had detached from the base; they flexed upward a little bit. The
case was no longer sealed.

For fun, I sawed off the posts, and plied off the cover. Inside, there
was no apparent damage, but the cells were almost totally dry. I added
about 8 oz of water to the 6 cells, which was completely absorbed.

The battery then became partially functional. It will accept a charge
and hold its voltage short-term, but has very low amphour capacity and a
high self-discharge rate.

It appears that the battery was damaged during installation by
"dropping" it into place, such that the edges of the yellow cover caught
on the adjacent batteries, and broke the seal. It then dried out over
time, and failed.

Just a word to those using Yellow Tops. Don't carry them around by their
yellow tops, and be especially careful not to drop them next to other
Yellow Tops such that the edge sits on top of an adjacent battery. It is
apparently easy to break the seal!
--
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